Iraq pullout: Bush loses, Senate sets a date

“When it comes to the war in Iraq, the American people have spoken, the House and Senate have spoken,” said Senator Richard J Durbin from Illinois, the No 2 Democrat in the Senate. “Now, we hope the president is listening.”

Senators still must vote on the overall legislation this week, and then their Bill must be reconciled with a House measure passed on Friday. The House voted 218 to 212 for a binding measure requiring the president to bring most American combat troops home by September 2008.

A few minutes after the vote on Tuesday in the Senate, the White House repeated its vow to veto any legislation containing a withdrawal date. The Senate action increases the likelihood that Congress and Bush will engage in a confrontation over the financing of the war.

The outcome of the Senate vote took both parties by surprise. Republicans were stung by the defection of Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who has not supported a timetable for withdrawal before although he is his party’s most outspoken critic of the war in Congress.

“There will not be a military solution to Iraq,” Hagel declared. “Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there. It doesn’t belong to the United States. Iraq is not a prize to be won or lost.”

The Senate vote was seen as a victory for Democrats. Had Republicans prevailed, the Senate Bill would have had no timetable, while the House version required a withdrawal no later than September 1, 2008. Democratic leaders were considering whether they should eliminate the timeline entirely before sending the measure to Bush. But it is now almost certain a final measure will include some requirements for withdrawal.